Page 31 of Where She Is
“Of course you can’t. Why would you? He’s always been there. It’s the same thing when you think about it.”
He smiles, “I suppose.”
I sit up and lay my hand against his chest to balance. “I’m grateful you have a brother. You want to know why?”
“Go on,” he chuckles while gently tugging strands of my hair with his fingers.
“It could have been you on business last week, meaning you wouldn’t be home for the weekend, and I wouldn’t be here with you now.”
“Yeah, dad did me a favour sending him to Melbourne.” He shifts up against the headboard, “Thank God I wasn’t the right person for the job. I’m no good at kissing arse. I leave that to the big boys.”
I can’t resist. “Believe me, you have nothing to worry about in the big boy department.”
Daniel laughs, scrunching up his nose. “Cheesy… very cheesy.”
“So, what’s our plan today, Mr Grant?”
He shuffles himself to sit up further, his mischievous smirk in place. “Well, the first thing I will do is smack your arse for the whole Mr Grant thing.”
I like the idea of some arse smacking, again another first for me, but I think I could let him do whatever he wants and enjoy it.
“Then I think we should get some breakfast. Are you hungry?” I’m not really, but I won’t tell him my stomach performs three hundred and sixty-degree somersaults every time I look at him. I’m sick with excitement, which is the same old story for me and the reason I have to keep my enthusiasm in check. “A little.”
Daniel throws back the duvet and gets out of bed, but as he does, there’s a scratch to my ankle as something catches it. I lean over and throw back the end of the duvet. Light flashes from the direction of the window and bounces back from my beautiful silver heels, which have tangled amongst the ruffled bottom sheet. I forgot about those.
After a refreshing shower and a large amount of self-control, our rumbling stomachs get the better of us. Daniel strides over to his small, but well-stocked kitchen which I note has every gadget known to man.
“What would you like? I can make you an English breakfast if it doesn’t make you too homesick?”
I force a smile as I pull up a stool to the bar and sit. “Just some toast for me please, lots of butter.”
He stops for a second, his muscular arms spread wide across the counter as he grips the edges and looks towards me sideways. “Are you sure? That’s not much. Icancook, just in case you’re worried.”
I’m sure there isn’t a lot he can’t do, but I’m just not hungry. “Honestly, toast is good for me.”
“Tea or coffee?”
“Tea please.”
He sets to work on my tea and toast and his healthy poached egg and orange juice. When he’s done, he sits next to me and pulls my chair closer to his. His hand kneads my thigh, but I’m mesmerised by the hazel eyes which shine into mine. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he says meaning every word.
“Me too.”
When I woke up this morning, I knew I felt different. My time with this man is already full of surprises. This could be wonderful, and I have to give us every chance. I’ve already experienced one of the best nights of my life, and we didn’t have actual sex. It may sound slutty, but it’s a first for me.
After breakfast, we spend our time learning about the other while we huddle together on the sofa. We talk about trivial things, but it’s easy and comfortable. He likes the theatre, loves music, especially Kings of Leon. Live bands are his passion, but he doesn’t get to see as many as he’d like to. I don’t ask why and put it down to work or the ‘Pap’ thing.
“So, tell me what else interests you, Mr Grant,” I ask as I haul my legs to rest on his.
“Well, there’s the ‘smacking my girls’ arse whenever she calls me by my dad’s name. I’m always interested in that and it looks as though I’ll be getting a lot of practice with my technique.”
“Ooh, you’re just enticing me now?”
He shakes his head emphatically and although he doesn’t smack my arse; he smooths his palm over it, which isn’t a disappointment. Then from nowhere he says, “Horses.”
“Pardon?”
“I can spend entire days trekking. I love the solitude and time to think. There’s no one to bother you with anything. It’s the peace and freedom you get.”
